Rib-knitted pile fabric.



No, 693,4o9.`

- Patented Feb. |8, |902. y 'G1- A. LEIGHToN. A

ms Akramen PILE FABRIC.

(Applicationxed Apr. 4,1901?) (No Model.)

.i imp-im UNrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. LElGl-ITON, OF MANCHESTER, NEW-HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR T()LEIGHTON MACHINE COMPANY, OF. MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

RIB-KNITTEDPILE FABRIC.

.SPECIFICATEON forming part of Letters-Patent No. 693,409, datedFebruary 18, 1902.'

d Application filed April 4, 1901. Serial No. 54,260. (No model.) Y'

To albwtom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LEIGHTON, acitizen of the United States,residing at Manchester, in the county of Hillsboro and State of NewHampshire, have invented an Improvement in Rib-Knitted Pile Fabric, ofwhich the"following description, in connection with the acconipanyingdrawing, is a specification, like letters on the drawing repro resentinglike parts.

This invention relates to a novel rib-knitted fabric composed ofdifferent threads one or more of which are manipulated or interknittedto form a ribbed fabric, while the other r5vthread or threads areinterknitted to lie in wales at one surface only of the fabric betweenthe longitudinal knitted wales of the ribbed fabric. The threadinterknitted, as described, to lie upon one surface of the fabzlo ricmay be used to ornament the fabric, or`

the thread may be of such a nature that it may be teazeled or worked toproduce a pile for the side of the fabric.

Prior to this invention a rib-knitted fabric has had incorporated withit at one side a pile-thread, said thread lying loosely behind the loopsin one row of knitted wales facingr one side of the fabric and crossingthe loops of intermediate knitted wales facing the other 3o side of thefabric, and the pile-thread of any desired length or degree of slacknesscrossing the intermediate wales is by usual means acted upon to producea pile or fleece.

A rib knitted fabric in which the pilethread is simply laid across theribs of adjacent wales cannot have the pile-thread incorporated with therib-knitted fabric with sull'lcient firmness to retain its position inthe fabric, and in use strain exerted on a loop of 4o the pile-threadbetween adjacent longitudinal wales of the rib-knitted fabric will drawthe pile-thread from a number of the adjacent longitudinal wales, thuspresenting a A long loop of the pile-thread at the face of thefaln'ic,\vliich is decidedlydetrimental thereto. l have aimed to producea rib-knitted pile fabric in which the pile-thread is knitted intoitself course after cou rse between the knitted wales of the rib-knittedfabric, and con-se-L 5o quently any strain exerted upon any part of thepile-thread between any two adjacent Vtlie threads.

wales of the rib-knitted fabric will not result in drawing thepile-thread from an adjacent longitudinal wale of the rib-knittedfabric. By thus knittingthe pile-thread between the knitted waleseftherib-knitted fabric amore uniform and evensurface is produced upon thecompleted fabric. f

Intel-knitting the pile-thread with itself course after course resultsin forming on one 6o face of the fabric a series of walesfornied'entirelyY from the pile-thread, the pile-thread walesalternating with the longitudinal wales of the rib-knitted fabric. i

The drawing constituting part of this speci 65 fication shows a piece ofrib-knitted fabric made in accordance with this invention, thefabric-threads and intertneshing being exaggerated to clearly illustrateinterloopingl of Referring to the drawing, the body of the knittedfabric is formed of'inner and outer body ribs or wales A B, knitted inusual manner on usual dial and cylinder needles, thus Y constituting aregular'rib-knitted fabric in 75 which none of the regular rows ofstitchesare omitted. As this fabric is knitted course after course l layinto or incorporate with it the pile warp-thread C, it crossing thelongitudiy nal wales A and being knitted into itself 8o course aftercourse to make between the longitudinal knitted wales A A and at oneside of the longitudinal knitted wales B of the ribknitted fabric aseries of wales lC', composed entirely of the pile-thread. thepile-thread with itself course after course it will be seen that anyloop of pile-thread if disengaged and drawn outwardly will not rendfarther than to the next adjacent row of knitted wales in thepile-thread, and so, 9o also, by reason of the interloopin g of thepilethread into a series of`independent knitted wales it is possible todraw the pilethread into and incorporate it with the fabric closer thanwere the pile-threads simply laid round 95 and round course after coursein and among the longitudinal wales of the rib-knitted'fabric, as hasheretofore been done.

In the production of the fabric herein described the rib-knitting willbe done -upon roo two sets of needles, one called Athe dial-needles andthe other' the cylimler-ncodlcs, and

By interknitting these dial and cylinder needles may be of any nsnalorsuitable construction.

VThe second or pile thread which appears at one face ot the fabric andis interknitted course after course to present Walesot knit ting betweenwales of rib-knittingisproduced by a third set of needles, which takessaid second thread and knits it stitch after stitch.

By the terms rib-knitted fabric and ribbed fabric I intend toinclude anyform ot' ribbed fabric knitted on two sets of needles-such, forinstance, as a fabric commonly designated by the terms cardigan andhalf-cardigan,7 and also a ribbed fabric knitted in what is designatedcommonly as tnclostitch.

W'hen thepile-thread is knitted together in Wales and incorporated in afabric knitted in the so-called tuck-stitch, the knitted Wales of thepile-thread will be applied to that face of the fabric opposite whichthe tuckstitch appears.

I Having described my invention, what I claim, and des'ire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

l. A knitted fabric composed of different threads, one of which ismanipulated or interknilted to form a regularly-ribbed foundation fabricsuch as described, thcother thread being inter-knitted to present aseries of knitted loops at one side only of the Vribbed fabn rie, saidknitted loops lying between adjacent ric such as described, the otherthread being intel-knitted to present longitudinal Wales at one surfaceof the fabricand between the wales of the ribbed fabric, said threadbeing mapped.

3. A knitted fabric composed of a regularlyribbed knitted foundationsuch as described, and a second or pile thread interknitted with itselfat each course to present knitted loops at one side of, and betweenadjacent Wales of the ribbed fabric, the pile-thread being preventedfrom being Withdrawn from the fabric byinterknitting the saine withitself as dcscribed. l

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence ot' two snbscrbingar Witnesses.

GEORGE A. LEIGHTON.

lVitnesses:

THEoDoRa WIESENDANGER. D. BURGEss.

